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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28155468">Different than I Thought</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cookies_and_Chaos/pseuds/Cookies_and_Chaos'>Cookies_and_Chaos</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Malory Towers - Enid Blyton</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, University</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 17:36:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>401</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28155468</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cookies_and_Chaos/pseuds/Cookies_and_Chaos</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Up until this moment, Alicia had been sure that she would take this all in her stride, much like had everything else in her life. Written for the 12 Days of Christmas Challenge 2020, Day 6, "Six Full Backpacks".</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>12 Days of Christmas Challenge 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Different than I Thought</h2></a>
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    <p>Up until this moment, Alicia had been sure that she would take this all in her stride, much like had everything else in her life. There was no reason she shouldn't just get on with this now in the very same way she had simply gotten on at Malory Towers, no reason at all.</p><p>And yet the idea of emptying any of those boxes and bags seemed too much even though she knew that it was just belongings from home. Belongings that had always been at home for her to return to each hols...</p><p>No wonder Sam had told her she should pack the things she needed straight away in a rucksack. While she might have made flippant comments and teased him, she would at least admit — only to herself of course — that her brother's advice was far better received than she had made out. All of it would be much more useful, though, if she could bring herself to open the bloody rucksack either.</p><p>Alicia reached out for the clips that held the rucksack closed and just paused in place, finger and thumb of each hand ready to press either side of the clip. All of this should be easy. It was just a bag. This was just university. This wasn't any different to school.</p><p>Who the hell was she kidding? Everything here was different to school.</p><p>The door to her room burst open and she recoiled from the rucksack before Betty could see her indecision.</p><p>"Have you not unpacked a thing yet? Whatever have you been doing?"</p><p>Betty unclipped her rucksack with two swift movements and upended the bag, with little in the way of finesse, all over Alicia's bed. "I wish you'd shared Sam's suggestion with me, I can't find a single thing in my boxes. I was going to ask you to help, I thought you'd be done by now."</p><p>"No rush, is there? It's not like we don't have time," Alicia said, hoping that Betty wouldn't see through the facade.</p><p>"I suppose we do." Betty nudged some of her belongings aside and then snatched up the bar of chocolate that Roger had got for Alicia. "You can share this with me. Come on, let's go and bother Darrell and Sally. I bet they've unpacked everything already."</p><p>Well, <em>almost</em> everything was different, and Alicia had never been more grateful for the things which had stayed the same.</p>
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